S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
December 30 - January 5, 2023 Volume CLXXIII, Issue 177
INSIDE Offering a MillionDollar Bribe to Secure a $45 Million LA County Lease PAGE 8
Former Santa Monica Mayor Dies in Beach Plane Crash Rex Minter dies after plane he was passenger in crash-lands on Santa Monica Beach By Sam Catanzaro Former Santa Monica Mayor Rex Minter died in a plane crash last week when the small plane he was a passenger in crashlanded on Santa Monica Beach. According to the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD), the incident occurred December 22 around 3:15 p.m. just south of the Santa Monica Pier. The plane involved –a single-engine Cessna – conducted an emergency landing on the beach and flipped upside down. According to the SMFD, the aircraft
departed Santa Monica Airport and headed to Malibu before the accident. Initial reports indicate the plane got as far as Sunset Boulevard before reporting engine trouble when and turned back and attempted a landing on the hardpack sand. In a recording broadcast on KTTV-TV, air traffic control cautions the pilot that “landing on the beach will be at your own risk.” “I wish I had another choice,” the pilot responded. According to the SMFD, upon arrival, Lifeguards, Harbor Guards, and Firefighters encountered the plane upside down in the surf line. “Two occupants were extricated and transported by Paramedics to a local hospital”, the SMFD said in a press release. On Thursday night, Santa Monica Mayor Gleam Davis Tweeted that former Santa Monica Mayor Rex Minter was the
passenger in the plane and that he died from injuries sustained in the crash. “Sadly, former SM mayor and judge Rex Minter was the passenger in the plane that crashed on the beach south of the Pier this afternoon. He has passed away. I have spoken with his family and relayed the City’s deepest condolences to them,” Davis said. Minter, a lifelong pilot, served as Santa Monica’s mayor from 1963-1967 after
being elected to City Council in 1955 at the age of 27. He also served as a Los Angeles Country Superior Court Judge.
SMMUSD Seeks Retrial and Split Payment in $45 Million in Abuse Lawsuit Twins physically abused by behavioral aid at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School in Malibu, according to lawsuit By Sam Catanzaro The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is seeking a retrial after a jury ruled that it must pay $45 million to the family of special needs twins who were physically abused by a behavioral aid. In addition, SMMUSD officials last week voted to pay the $45 million over the course of 10 years, citing financial hardship The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by plaintiffs Charles and Nadine Wong on behalf of their two sons, who were students at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School in Malibu. The school has since closed after merging with the Point Dume Marine Science School site to accommodate a middle school at the Cabrillo site. According to the lawsuit, during the 2017-
2018 school year Galit Gottlieb, a behavioral aid assigned to the twins, used corporal punishment on the two boys. Allegations include making the twins – both of whom had “extremely limited” communication capabilities – put hand sanitizer on cuts and grabbing them in a manner intended to inflict pain. The abuse was first reported by a bus driver for the district. The lawsuit contends that the twins suffered damages, including bruising, emotional distress and pain, suffering and inconvenience, in addition to special damages such as counseling expenses, behavioral interventions and increased living expenses. “District administrators failed the twins by allowing them to be abused for months despite clear warnings they were being harmed,” said the plaintiff’s attorney David W. German of Vanaman German LLP in a statement. “Even now, they refuse to acknowledge the extent of the harm their employee caused. Fortunately, the jury saw through their continued attempt to cover-up what occurred.”
In October, a jury ruled that the SMMUSD must pay $45 million to the family. District officials, however, are seeking a retrial and also recently voted to pay out the $45 million over 10 years. According to a resolution passed last week by the SMMUSD Board of Education, paying the $45 million in a lump sum would cause the
district “undue financial hardships.” “The District does not have sufficient funds available to pay the amounts rendered in the Verdicts by lump sum,” reads the resolution, which states that paying a lump sum would hinder its ability to provide services to students.